Harsh Words and Realizations
by angel-san801
Summary: Takes place in book 6. Will's near death experience leads Horace to do something rather surprising. Horace/Will Now multi-chapter
1. Quick and Messy

_Author's note: Well, looking through the Ranger's Apprentice fics, I couldn't really find any Horace/Will slash, and since I like the pairing, I took it upon myself to write one. Warnings for man on man sexyness of course, so if you don't like it, don't read it. Takes place right after Will's fight with MacHaddish in book 6. I took the first little bit directly from the book simply because I needed a lead in, and _did not write it_. Please no one sue me._

"Where did he get you?" Horace asked frantically. He knew he had to find the source of that blood and stanch the flow. Wounds to the stomach and torso were all too often fatal, he knew, and he felt panic rising in him as he continued to search.

"Stop pawing at me!" Will shouted angrily, stepping back from him. "It's MacHaddish's blood, not mine!"

Horace looked at him, uncomprehending for a moment. "Not yours?" he said.

"No. Look at his hand where the arrow hit him. He was pouring blood all over me as we fought. I'm fine."

And illogically, right on the heels of a sudden rush of relief, Horace felt his anger welling up.

"His blood? Why didn't you say so? I was frantic here, thinking you were bleeding like a stuck pig!"

"When did you give me a chance?" Will said. "You were all over me, grabbing at me, turning me this way and that!"

"I'm sorry", Horace snapped back. "Forgive me for being concerned about you. It won't happen again!"

The ranger snarled at him, the unreasonable anger he felt in reaction to his near death boiling over as he tackled his friend.

Horace was caught off guard by the sudden, unwarranted attack and went down under Will with a startled cry. His combat training was quick to kick in however, and with his greater size and strength, he soon had Will pinned.

The similarity of the position to when MacHaddish had nearly killed him sent an involuntary jolt of panic through the young Ranger, and he began to struggle frantically against Horace's firm grasp, cursing the warrior on top of him with every vile name he could think of as he tried in vain to free himself.

Horace was having none of it, if he'd been angry before, then now he was down right furious. He'd saved the ungrateful little twerp's life and this was the thanks he got? The warrior tightened his grip on Will's arms, and shoved one knee into his ribs hard enough to elicit a sharp cry of pain that, had Horace been thinking clearly, he would've felt bad about.

He wasn't thinking clearly though. And that was the only reason he could think of to explain his next action. Just as Will was about to shout out another insult, Horace silenced the ranger by leaning down and pressing his lips against his.

Will's eyes widened and he let out a muffled noise of surprise at the suddenness of the kiss. Horace was just as shocked by his own actions, though he noticed it had caused Will to momentarily stop struggling, and he decided that was the effect his subconscious mind must've been going for, writing off any other less then pure reasons he might've had. Just as he was thinking this however, another thought crept into his mind. Will's lips were amazingly soft. It surprised him a bit. It wasn't as if the handsome warrior had never kissed anyone before. Just never another man- even if Will was a bit smaller then the average man-, and he was shocked at how good it had felt.

Horace pulled away, slowly breaking the contact, looking down at his friend who stared up at him wide-eyed, lips slightly parted in a way that for some reason made the warrior have to swallow and sent an odd shiver down his spine.

And then suddenly they were kissing again. More heated this time, moaning and frantically clutching at each other, tongues exploring, tasting the other's mouth. Neither could really be sure of who initiated it this time, but it was obvious both of them wanted it.

Will let out a low moan, and Horace felt a leg wrap around his hips, pulling them in closer. With a bit of shock, the warrior realized just how excited he was becoming and as their hips met, noticed his friend was equally, if not more so.

"Will…", Horace murmured, managing to break away from the kiss, though he found it surprisingly difficult to get out of the leg hold the ranger had him in. It always seemed to take the warrior by surprise just how deceptively strong his friend was, and to his slight horror the thought seemed to turn him on even more. This was wrong, he knew. They were both guys for crying out loud! And besides that, Will already had Alyss, though he didn't really know quite how far their relationship went, he knew Will obviously liked her. And Horace liked Cassandra. Or at least he thought he did. But now those feelings all seemed muddled and confused to the warrior, and he wondered if the quick-thinking ranger was having any easier of a time working it out.

Apparently he was, because while Horace's expression was one of confusion and a bit of embarrassment, Will's eyes held only a slight quizzical expression at the kiss suddenly being broken off.

"What?" The ranger asked innocently, cocking his head to the side as he propped himself up a bit on his elbows now that his friend was no longer pressed in so close.

Horace couldn't seem to think of the words to say, and stuttered a moment before replying, "we-we shouldn't- um-… I mean…", the warrior couldn't seem to explain exactly _what_ he meant, but the implication was still clear.

"You're the one who started it", the ranger replied with a cool calmness that stunned the warrior. It seemed rangers really _were_ always one step ahead.

"W-wait, but, you were the one who tackled me!" Horace countered, trying to regain control of the situation (how the ranger managed to keep the upper hand while literally pinned under him was beyond him). He most certainly did _not _initiate this. Just thinking about it caused the warrior to blush furiously.

Will raised an eyebrow at that. "This… wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I did it."

Though Will was trying to keep his expression composed, the laughter was apparent in his eyes. He was obviously trying to poke fun at his embarrassed friend. A fact which led the warrior to a rather bold move.

"Oh so you were just humoring me then", Horace said, giving a rather fake sigh, trying to sound nonchalant, "I guess you weren't enjoying it at all."

Just as he said this, he quickly grabbed at his friend's lower regions, managing to catch him off guard, he felt it twitch as Will let out a sharp cry of surprise.

"A-ah, Horace, quit it! L-let go!" It was a bit harder to keep up his poker face with his friends hand on such a sensitive area. The small ranger whimpered as Horace's hand began to rub teasingly, still outside his pants. …And then inside them as he was quickly unfastening his belt, roughly jerking his pants down.

Horace himself was a bit shocked at how aggressive he was being, and he was momentarily reminded of when he and Will used to fight all the time back in the ward. This was needless to say, not _quite_ the same thing, but some of the feeling behind it was still similar. He wanted so badly to dominate the young ranger.

"Ungh… H-Horace…", Will moaned as Horace's hand pumped up and down his now fully hardened length. Horace had never had sex with another guy before (and could only assume Will hadn't either) but, though he wasn't exactly bragging about it, the warrior would be lying if he said he didn't have any experience jerking off. Then his other hand snaked around to his friend's entrance, sliding one finger in, experimentally slow at first, then adding another when that seemed to get a good reaction. Will's fists clenched uselessly in the snow only vaguely registering how cold it was, as he cried out, shutting his eyes tightly against the overwhelming mix of pleasure and pain that went with the new addition.

Horace seemed to hesitate at the cry, and Will felt him start to pull the fingers out.

"N-no…" Will huffed out between ragged breathes, hating the emptiness when they had started to leave, "don't stop… m-more…"

A third finger brushing past just the right spot had the young ranger practically screaming his name, and at this point Horace was becoming extremely aware of the pressing matter of taking care of his own needs.

Will gave a disappointed whimper underneath him, when the warrior removed the fingers from inside him, and clumsily began trying to remove his own pants. In the end the task wound up requiring both hands, the excitement of the moment causing his hands to shake and get tripped up over undoing his belt buckle.

Will watched through half lidded eyes from his spot on the ground as his friend's pants finally fell, noticing- with more then a touch of jealousy- that Horace was apparently larger then him in all senses of the word.

The ranger gave a small moan as the warrior leaned down over him, gently kissing his neck, before lifting his head to look his friend in the eyes.

"Do you really want to do this?" The warrior asked, his tone serious, as he searched for any hint of doubt in the ranger's eyes. Everything in him right now screamed for him to do it, but still this was a bit frightening, even for him. So he definitely wasn't going to push Will farther then he was comfortable with going since he seemed to have the more difficult role in this.

"Yes, do it", Will panted out, feeling like screaming at him to hurry. From the way Horace was laying so close on top of him, Will, could feel his friend's hardness pressing against him, making him want it even more. The ranger had felt so close to cuming when his friend was jerking him off, that this pause in the action was downright excruciating.

That was all the reassurance the warrior needed, as he was pretty sure if he waited much longer, there was a good chance of things ending prematurely. Taking both his friend's legs, he spread them wide to allow easy access. He was a little worried that the position might cause his friend some discomfort though was quickly reminded of the young ranger's limber flexibility when he made no complaint. God, why had he never realized before how sexy Will was?

"Try to… hnn… relax…", Horace commanded gently, as he started to push in, Will immediately tightening around him.

Will bit his lip, shutting his eyes tightly, as he tried to calm down and focus on his breathing to get past the pain, and relax his muscles enough to easily let him in further.

He managed to loosen up a little, but still ended up crying out when his friend pushed in farther, eliciting a murmured apology from Horace, and something that sounded like a promise to go slower. In a brief moment of panic, the ranger wondered if his friend would even be_ able_ to fit inside without tearing him open, but quickly tried his best to push those thoughts aside. Thinking like that would only make things worse, and he wanted to enjoy this. So trying to put aside the pain, he attempted to focus instead on the pleasurable sensations he was beginning to feel. Which became a whole lot easier when Horace's cock went in all the way at just the right spot to hit that special bundle of nerves, causing Will's whole body to arch back as he cried out wordlessly in unspeakable pleasure.

"Ungh…! W-Will…!" Horace moaned, as his friend squeezed spasmodically around him, and it was all the warrior could do not to cum right then, but he somehow managed to hold out, continuing to thrust in and out, as Will writhed and moaned underneath him. The warrior's thrusts started out rather slow, but picked up both speed and force as Will's insides became lubricated with the pre-cum beginning to leak out of Horace's member.

"Ah, uhn…Horace…! Harder…!" Will cried out, his own erection starting to weep, and then threw his head back, mouth wide, fingers digging into the ground in surprise pleasure , as his friend did one better, grabbing his cock, using the liquid trickling out as lubricant to jerk him off hard even as he thrust in harder.

"I think… I'm about… to…" The ranger choked out between gasps for air.

"M-me too…"Horace moaned, feeling his own release close at hand, but managed to hold out just a little longer for Will to cum first.

The ranger's hips bucked, eyes clenching shut, as he came messily into his friend's hand, cum spewing over both of them as he cried out the young warrior's name.

No longer having to hold back, Horace pulled almost all the way out, then thrust in hard one last sweet time before releasing himself deep inside his friend.

The climax left them both breathless. The warrior had to take a moment to catch his breath before pulling out with a slight squelching noise as his member slid out of Will's semen slick hole, immediately collapsing onto his back, not even bothering to pull his pants up, using one strong arm to pull the ranger into a sort of half embrace.

Will smiled, sighing contentedly as he wrapped an arm around Horace's broad chest, snuggling into his friend's warmth.

They both lay like that for a while, enjoying the closeness, neither of them saying a word, before finally Will spoke up.

"Hey, Horace?"

"What?", the warrior asked, eyes closed, feeling as though he could almost drift off right there despite the cold.

"Don't you think we should hurry up and get back before he wakes up?" Will asked innocently, gesturing with a tilt of his head to the unconscious Scotti warrior they had left laying in the snow.

Horace quickly sat up in surprise, throwing Will off a little roughly in the process. He had completely forgotten about him.

"Ah, um, you're right!" The warrior said, a little embarrassed at his startled reaction, as he hastily pulled his pants back up, before standing, offering a hand to Will who had already redressed.

The ranger took the hand graciously, pulling himself up, and swiftly brushing some of the lingering snow off his cloak.

"What I wouldn't do for a nice long rest right about now…" Will muttered. Both the near death experience and the excitement afterwards had drained his young body, and the ranger groaned as he stretched.

"Yeah, well, first we've got to carry this jerk back", the warrior grumbled in response, referring to their new captive.

"_We _don't have to do anything. You're the man after all", Will replied smiling, as he strode casually past his friend.

"Ah! W-Will, wait!" Horace shouted after him, grunting as he hefted the unconscious general's arm over his shoulder, and struggled to catch up to his laughing friend.

_This is my first attempt at writing an RA fic, and it's been a while since I've read the books, so it was a bit difficult remembering how to make them act. Forgive me if they seemed out of character or if I got anything wrong. I hope it didn't end up too terrible and was at least a little sexy. lol_

_Anyway, if you've gotten this far and liked it (or didn't) please review and tell me what you think (or what you think I could improve on)!_

_Also, as a side note, I was thinking about writing another RA fic for the same point in the story in which Will get's hurt or possibly killed in the fight. It might have a little Horace/Will, but probably just implied and no actual sex. And maybe a Gillan/Will after that._

_Thanks for reading!_

_~Angel-san_


	2. More Then Just a Fling?

_Well, originally this was meant to be a stand alone one chapter thing, but since I've gotten some good reviews, and since it was so fun to write, I'm going to try to make it a multi-chapter. This is pretty, short, I apologize, but it's a kind of just an experiment to see if I should continue it or if it should just stay as a one chapter. _

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or just read the first chapter, and I hope this one's not too crappy!_

**Disclaimer (I never remember these): I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or its characters. Seriously, are Horace and Will or Halt and Will or really any guy and Will getting it on in the books? No? Then I'm pretty sure I didn't write them.**

A slight groan escaped the ranger as he tossed and turned restlessly in his sleep. After a moment, Will's eyes opened, and a soft frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he sat up, running a hand through his- he noted now rather sweaty- hair.

They had just gotten back to the clearing a few hours ago with their Scotti prisoners, and with everything including the issue of guard watches for the night having been settled, Will had been extremely happy to finally get a chance to sleep.

Sleep however, was not so happy to see him, and seemed to get away from the young man every time he caught up with it. Grunting a little he stretched, hearing aching joints pop at the action. The bedroll in his small tent wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing he'd ever slept on, and found himself wishing vainly for his bed back home. That discomfort, however, was not the source of his sleeplessness.

Though the young ranger was thoroughly exhausted, every time he managed to fall asleep, odd dreams would plague his mind. He couldn't remember all the details upon awakening, but he remembered it being about Alyss and Horace, and being forced to choose between the two.

Even the most simpleminded person could figure out the meaning behind that one, Will thought as he recalled rather guiltily what he and Horace had done earlier that evening. It wasn't as if he were really _betraying _Alyss though. They weren't officially dating or anything yet… were they? Still, that excuse didn't really do much to silence the guilt he was feeling. They obviously shared feelings for each other, and had for a long time. And Will had already done more then enough to lead her on. Had thought that he wanted to. Thought that he loved her. Still thought that.

When he thought of Alyss, he could feel his heart flutter with emotion, and he still though of her and worried about her constantly, and knew he would do anything to ensure her safety. But… it was strange ever since the warrior had come here to help him, Will had started to feel those same fluttery feelings around Horace as well. Until now, he had been able to merely dismiss it as nothing, or merely happiness to see an old friend, but that was pretty much impossible now.

The whole way back, Will had found it difficult not to stare at his friend. The ranger found it strange how he had never noticed before just how handsome Horace was. And he'd had to fight back an overwhelming urge to touch him.

Will thought back now to the way the warrior's body had felt pressed up against him. Feeling every strong muscle of that perfectly toned body on top of him. And the way Horace had felt inside hi- oh god, that was too much. Will tried frantically to stop that train of though, as he felt himself becoming aroused. He was trying _not_ to feel that way about his friend! He loved Alyss. Right…? He tried to think of her pretty, composed features, her tall slim figure in her elegant courier's dress, but his thoughts kept slipping back to Horace. Having sex with him had felt so good, and so oddly right for sex with another man.

Will could feel his breathing starting to speed up as he recalled Horace thrusting in and out of him, the white-hot ecstasy that had filled him each time he hit that spot. Almost on its own accord, the action barely registering in his mind, Will's hand reached for his now completely hardened erection. As he touched himself, he closed his eyes, imagining it was Horace's hand instead.

The ranger whimpered his friend's name. Softly enough that he knew no one outside would have a chance of hearing, still at least mindful enough to have some shame in what he was doing. He rubbed harder and faster, his breathing quickening it's pace in tandem. He could feel the pressure building and knew it wouldn't be long. His imagination now brought forth a new image. This time of Horace's mouth around his member. Licking and sucking and- Will didn't get to finish that thought before he ejaculated.

The small ranger panted for breath as slowly he came down. With the release, he felt even more tired now then before, though a fresh wave of guilt was creeping back up on him. Will sighed, pretty sure he wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight.

_Okay, I hope that wasn't too bad. I wrote it all in one go and yes, again, it was really short (almost more author's note then story lol). Sorry for only writing not very graphic masturbating. I promise there'll be sex again later if I write more. Anyway, I'd love to hear your opinions on it, so please review, and tell me whether or not you think I should continue or if you have any suggestions or anything. I'd love to hear from you!_

_~angel-san_


	3. You Can't Hide From the Truth

_With- I hope not too much- delay, I bring you chapter three! I'm sorry if it took a long time, but I wanted to read the sixth book again so that I could try to get the events straight so that I can (hopefully) stay somewhat true to the timeline of events in the original story… and then I got distracted writing other things… and I ended up only reading half of the book before writing this. Argh, I'm so lazy! (sorry!) I was just really eager to start writing again. I'm going to try to keep the events from the book a bit vague unless important for the plot development of this story anyway, but hopefully I don't end up contradicting anything too important (but it's just smutty fanfic, so a few minor discrepancies shouldn't be that big of a deal… right?) and I will make myself finish re-reading the book (instead of just skimming) before I write the next chapter!_

"Will, come on, we need to talk", Horace said, grabbing Will's arm when he tried to walk away.

Will glared at him, trying to yank his hand back, but the warrior held tight, "I told you, I'm tired. I just don't feel like it right now."

The ranger tried again to pull his arm back, and this time the warrior conceded if a little reluctantly. He knew that brute force wasn't going to solve anything here, and would quite probably make the situation a lot worse, but he wasn't sure of what else to do. Will had hardly spoken a word to Horace the past couple days, and though his friend had denied it when asked, Horace was sure he was purposefully avoiding him.

It didn't take a ranger to figure out what the reason might be, though that still brought a bit of confusion to the warrior since Will had seemed completely fine with it immediately after the event. "The event" of course being… well… you know…

"Will, wait!" Horace shouted desperately as Will started back to his tent, causing the ranger to glare again rather nastily before quickly checking the rest of the clearing to make sure no one had noticed their little argument. No one had, of course. Their tents were a good distance away and even if they weren't, it was late and anyone else was either asleep, or in the case of the Skandians too loud and drunk themselves to notice or care about any other noise.

There was of course the matter of whoever was currently on duty guarding the Scotti, who would (hopefully) be on alert right now, and it was this thought that prompted Will to rather brusquely shove Horace into the relative privacy of his tent before continuing their little conversation.

"Well?" the ranger asked, sitting down in the small space across from the warrior and crossing his arms in an impatient manner. He knew he was being rude and unreasonable, but he had wanted to put this whole embarrassing situation behind them, and was rather put out that his friend was apparently not going to allow that.

Horace sighed, running a hand through his hair as he tried to gather exactly what he wanted to say. Will obviously wasn't going to make this easy, and the warrior wasn't exactly known for his way with words, but finally he just decided on the direct route and just came out with it.

"You've been ignoring me." It was a statement not a question, but Will tried to deny it anyway.

"I told you I-"

Horace cut him off before he could make another excuse, "and I know why too… or at least kind of…" He faltered a little, before his urgent need for answers pushed him to regain his confidence, "But that's why we need to talk about it!"

Will lowered his head at this, taking a moment before starting to answer. "Horace… I…" He trailed off unable to think of the words to finish his statement. After a moment of silence he covered his face with his hand, letting out a groan that sounded downright pained.

"Will…?" Horace asked hesitantly, the ranger's rather strong reaction catching him a bit off guard. A hint of worry showed in his voice as he leaned forward to try to catch a glimpse of his friend's face hidden by his hand.

Will visibly tensed when the warrior leaned in closer. It was a cramped space already, only made for one person to sleep in. Much closer and they'd actually be touching. Will felt blood rush to his face as well as down lower at the thought, and he desperately tried to shake it. He had already decided that he was going to forget about this. Alyss was the one he loved. Horace was a friend, his best friend even, but he was also another man, and that wasn't right. … Was it? Did people do that? He wasn't sure, though he of course knew that it was possible- and felt fantastic in his opinion- but he had never heard of two men in a relationship together before, and he was pretty sure that it would not be very well accepted.

"Will?" Horace called his name again, this time reaching to gently remove the hand from his face, and tilt his chin up to look the young ranger in the eye.

And suddenly Will couldn't stand it anymore. In one swift motion, he snaked his arm around to the back of the warrior's neck bringing their faces that last little distance together into a hungry kiss.

"Will, what…-?" Horace started the moment their lips separated, but was stopped short by Will's hand cupping him through the fabric of his pants, rubbing in a way that made him moan in pleasure.

Well, if this was what he wanted, Horace wasn't about to argue. In seconds he had Will on his back. The lustful noises the ranger made as Horace feverishly started to remove his clothes would've been enough to get him fully aroused if he was not already there. Upon finally wrestling the ranger's shirt and cloak off- a task that in the heat of the moment seemed much more difficult then it should have been- Horace proceeded to half lap, half kiss his way down from Will's neck down to his small but well defined chest.

"Ungh… Horace…" Will moaned as the warrior's tongue glided over one of his nipples. He proceeded to lightly nip and suck at it as he undid the ranger's pants. Will's small body shuddered as he was finally released from the confines of his clothes. He noticed though, with a bit of confusion that his friend was still, completely dressed, but when he opened his mouth to question it, the warrior silenced him with a light kiss on the lips.

Pulling away, he gave the ranger a sly smile, "Hold on, I wanted to try something new."

Before the ranger could make any protest or question him further, Horace had lowered himself to Will's erection, immediately taking it in his mouth, sucking a little before pulling away to slowly glide his tongue up the length of it.

Will whimpered and moaned, clutching at the bedding beneath him as he struggled to catch his breath. It did not go unnoticed by the ranger that this was exactly what he had fantasized about the night after they had first done it, almost as though the warrior had read his mind.

"Do you like that?" Horace asked, lightly and agonizingly slowly running his tongue over the tip.

"Ungh… H-Horace… stop t-teasing…" Will moaned, another shudder wracking his small frame. Everything in him wanted to grab the warrior by the hair and shove his head back down to take him back in entirely, but he resisted taking such violent action. Halfway because he felt barely in control of his own body at the moment.

His friend thankfully didn't make him suffer long though. The warrior once again took him completely into his mouth, sucking hard, and Will had to bite his lip to stop himself from screaming at the rush of pleasurable sensation brought on by the action, remembering almost too late that they still had to be at least somewhat quiet. If they were to be caught like this… Will didn't even want to think about that little scenario. A few strangled whimpering noises came out instead as his small body writhed underneath his friend.

Horace's mouth felt so wonderfully hot and wet around him, and Will found himself having to bite his lip even harder, closing his eyes as he felt another wave of pleasure hit him making him see stars. He was sure he was going to be tasting blood any second now. The warrior fixed this however, as two of his friend's fingers were pressed against his tightly closed lips. Will opened his eyes and looked at them, then back at the warrior questioningly.

"Suck", Horace commanded, his voice taking on a new deep and seductive tone that sent a shiver through Will, as he up for a second before taking the ranger back into his mouth.

Will hesitated a short moment before opening his mouth to allow the fingers entry. He started out hesitant, but quickly found himself being pulled into the little game, sucking hard and unconsciously matching his friend's actions.

What felt to be mere seconds later, though Will wasn't really sure if his mind could accurately keep track of time anymore, Horace pulled himself away, eliciting a little whimper of protest from the ranger who's ignored erection still begged for release.

Horace merely smirked at him, pulling his fingers, now drenched in saliva from Will's mouth, a little string of spit trailing between the ranger's lips to the fingers as he pulled them away. He proceeded to slowly push the slicked fingers one at a time into Will's entrance, making him groan as the warrior scrissored them, brushing against his prostate in the process.

He didn't touch the spot again as he continued to stretch him, however, and Will found himself silently cursing his friend. He was doing that on purpose, he knew it. Damnit, Horace, stop teasing already! He thought, impatience and desire filling ever fiber of his small body, making him feel as though he were about to explode.

Years of training in patiently waiting were absolutely no help in this situation. All the ranger could think was that he wanted it now.

He let out a little whimper of anticipation as Horace finally pulled his fingers out and began to take off his own pants, groaning as his own aching erection was released from it's tight confinement.

"You ready?" He asked, really not needing to, and Will could only nod dumbly in response his breath already thoroughly taken out of him.

Horace was tempted to tease his friend further, but having himself held out this whole time, waiting was just as hard for him. So he opted instead to kiss his friend on the lips, using his hands to gently coax Will's legs open a bit wider to comfortably accommodate him before easing himself in. Will groaned and bit the warrior's lip as he pushed in farther. Though Horace noticed his friend was relaxing a lot quicker this time, his grip around him quite so constrictingly tight as before, and he found himself able to fully sheath himself with more ease and less need for verbal encouragement then before.

"Ah…! Horace…" Will wined, writhing oh so sexily under him as the warrior found the right spot, then arching and moaning when he pulled out and hit it again with greater force. It was only a few thrusts later that Will came, crying out a bit louder then he had meant to, with Horace following not far behind him.

"That was great", the warrior said breathlessly, pulling out of his friend, and Will gave a little noise of agreement, closing his eyes and panting to catch his breath.

Horace got off the ranger, rolling over onto his back beside him, though he just barely had room to in the small space of the tent, and sighing in contentment as he shut his eyes. It still bothered him though, that Will had never answered him before, but he was tired now, and he didn't want to ruin the moment by pressing him further.

Cracking an eye open, he noticed Will already had his pants back on and was shuffling awkwardly in the cramped space trying to locate his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Horace asked, lazily tugging on the ranger's arm in an attempt to get him to lay back down.

Will shrugged him off, continuing his search, and looking pleased with himself when he was finally successful, "I can't very well go back to my tent stark naked", he responded, starting to pull the shirt on before scowling as he realized it was inside out and tugging it back off.

"Why do you have to go back?" Horace asked, sitting up, and grabbing the shirt away from Will before he could get it back on, "there's room for both of us if we lay close."

Will glared pointedly at the shirt in his friend's hand, but Horace pretended he didn't notice. "And what will people think when they see us exiting the same tent in the morning?" He asked, making an unsuccessful grab for his shirt.

"You shouldn't care what they think", the warrior answered stubbornly, putting the shirt under him and sitting on it so his friend couldn't get to it. "And even if you do", he went on, though Will continued to look put off, "you can just use freakish ranger stealth skills and sneak back. No one will notice. I promise."

Will wasn't so sure he should count on that, but he also wasn't wanting to leave half his clothes behind, and he knew Horace wasn't about to give them back. Before he could even think of it, the warrior grabbed his cloak as well, tucking it firmly beneath him along with the shirt.

Will sighed, knowing he'd been beaten, he reluctantly laid back down, grudgingly snuggling into Horace's warm well-muscled body as one of his strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him in closer.

_I hope you liked chapter three, at first I was going to make them both avoid each other, but that made it more difficult, so I went with just Will. But of course, no one can resist hot yaoi sex for long lol! Thank you everyone who already reviewed and/or favorited, you've made me so very happy and kept me going with this fic! I'd like to give a special thanks to Will Treaty for your speedy and always wonderful reviews and for your suggestions (I hope you liked it! You'll just have to wait and see if the other part happens…), and to my nii-san P3 Dude for always reading and reviewing my stories even if you don't like or know the fandom._

_I'll try to get the next chapter out soon, I hope you'll keep reading and please review!_

_~angel-san_


	4. The Secret's Out

_This came out way faster then I expected it to, though it seems my other stories are suffering a bit of neglect (oops). I've actually already written a bit the next chapter, so that one should be out soon as well._

_Just a note beforehand to make sure the story doesn't get confusing…_

_I've pretty much been leaving out all details on the course of the original story, since- well, you've most likely already read the actual book so it would be kind of boring for me to just repeat things. But just to catch you up with where they are in the plot at this point since I've kept it kind of vague, they have already learned what Keren has planned with the Scotti, and have already planned and are preparing for their siege of the castle._

Will was going to kill Horace. He was absolutely going to kill him.

Despite the warrior's suggestion of using his 'freakish ranger stealth skills' to exit the tent unnoticed, there was no real way to avoid detection exiting a tent with only one entrance while someone was waiting outside for you to come out.

"Morning, lovebirds!" The two of them were greeted cheerfully by the burly Skandian, Gundar the moment they came out of the tent the following morning (though Will had _told_ Horace not to come out directly behind him).

Will paled, shooting a quick glare at his friend, who for his part did not look nearly as ashamed as the ranger thought he should have.

"What is it, Gundar?" The warrior asked casually. As casually as if they had not just been caught sleeping together. Well, not caught during the act, but good enough! Why else would they have been sleeping in the same small tent when there was another perfectly good one right beside it?

How could he not care?

The Skandian gave a deep rumbling laugh, seeming amused at Will's obvious humiliation, "I was just coming to tell you the progress my men have made on those ladders, but if you two need some more alone time…" He trailed off suggestively, elbowing the young ranger in a good natured manner -and almost hard enough to knock him off his feet in his stunned state.

"N-no!" Will shouted a bit too forcefully. He could tell from the heat rising in his face that he was no doubt blushing profusely, "I wasn't- We weren't- It's not what you think!"

'That sounded convincing' he thought bitterly.

The Skandian laughed again, even harder this time. Will was fairly certain anyone within a ten mile radius would have heard it. "Oh no?" The large man asked, still chuckling, "so all that noise last night was just some close quarters sparring eh?"

He nudged the ranger again, and Will could feel his blush deepen. Oh god, he had heard them? Had _everyone_?

Actually, the Skandian explained with far too much amusement, it had not been him directly that had heard it. Rather one of his men who had been looking for a place to… relieve himself had just so happened to pass by their tent at just about the same time Will had been moaning and crying out his friend's name in ecstasy for all the hear (he went into great detail on that part, much to Will's dismay).

Will wasn't sure if he should be more perturbed by the fact that their secret was out, or that some of the Skandians were apparently relieving themselves beside their tents.

To the ranger's horror, he went on to add that the man had taken no time in telling everyone who would listen, and that the Skandians had all been drinking and taking bets nearly all night on how long it had been going on and how long they thought it would last.

"So what is this, the fifth time? Sixth? Come on, I can't stand to lose any more money to my own men like this!"

"Sorry, my good man, only the second", Horace replied before Will could stop him, and the Skandian cursed loudly, grumbling about his hefty losses.

Will was too absorbed in his own humiliation to really pay much attention to the rest of the conversation, but the moment Gundar turned away, laughing to himself as he walked off, the ranger turned on his friend.

"I _told _you I should have gone back to my tent last night!" Will seethed, glaring daggers at the warrior.

"That", Horace's pleasant expression immediately shifted into a matching glare at his friend's accusations, "wasn't what got us caught now was it? From what I heard it was _someone_ not being able to keep his big mouth shut."

"Only because someone else's mouth was somewhere it shouldn't have been."

"I seem to recall you quite enjoying that. 'Oh, Horace! More! More!" The warrior cried dramatically in a poor imitation of Will's voice.

"I didn't say that!" Will shouted indignantly, the blush that had just started to go down coming back with a vengeance, as he quickly glanced around to see if anyone had heard. Though he wasn't really sure why he bothered. Apparently it was all around the camp by now. Oh god…

"And besides", Horace went on, seeming to not know when to stop, "_you_ started it. Just. Like. Last time."

The warrior smiled smugly, crossing his arms like he'd won. Will didn't say anything and the warrior seemed to take this as a confirmation of his victory, swiftly moving on to another subject, pleasant mood returned.

"Well, anyway, we should probably be helping with preparations for-" The warrior started, but Will interrupted him.

"We are _not _doing this again." The ranger's head was lowered, not looking at his friend, and his voice was cold and tight holding no hint of its usual friendliness or good cheer.

Horace hadn't been expecting that…

"I'm sorry?" the warrior asked, a little taken aback by the sudden mood change (well, Will hadn't been exactly happy before, but…). "What are you talking about…?"

"This thing! Whatever it is, it's over!" Will shouted, finally looking up to meet his friend's confused gaze. The ranger's eyes were sharp, venomous, so unlike Will that it stunned the warrior into silence. But… wait… was that gleam in his eyes… tears? Horace didn't get a chance to confirm his suspicions, as the ranger swiftly turned away from him, storming off towards the clearing.

"I'm going to see if Malcolm needs any help with his diversions. Don't try to come with me." Will said back to his stunned friend, not even bothering to turn around and say it to his face.

Horace was left dumbstruck. What had just happened…? Sure, he'd been poking fun at his friend, and perhaps had gone a _little_ far, but… this was crazy! Had… had Will just broken up with him?

The warrior just stood there for a moment, mouth slightly open as if trying to catch flies in it, looking at where Will had been just a moment before, though he had already long since disappeared. It was too late to call him back now. The warrior briefly considered going against what the ranger had said, and following him, but… this wasn't exactly a discussion he wanted to continue in front of other people.

He thought back to the look he'd seen on his friend's face. The anger had been what had initially startled him, had taken his full attention so that he hadn't noticed the more important detail until it was too late a second before the ranger had turned around. But thinking back on it, Horace was sure. Will had been about to cry.

That was almost more confusing then the anger. The thought of his friend- and now kind of lover- being in such turmoil was… upsetting, and the warrior wasn't sure exactly how he should feel. Or more helpfully for that matter, what he should be doing to fix it. This was not going to be easy…

"What did I do wrong…?" The warrior muttered to himself, scrubbing a hand across his eyes.

_They've been found out! I considered having someone walk in on them, but… I ended up chickening out. Ha ha… So I hope being overheard was an okay compromise._

_I hope it doesn't come off as odd that Horace seemed so fine with everything. As I mentioned in the last chapter's note, I had originally wanted to make them both really weirded out by their feelings and actions and such and avoid each other, but ended up making it mostly just Will. I think Horace was feeling a bit hurt and offended by Will's semi-rejection (followed by complete rejection), and was acting possibly overly fine with it as a bit of a "so there!" sort of thing. I hope I made it come across that way, and still seem realistic. As for the Skandians, they seem more or less like the "whatever floats your boat" types to me, so I didn't think they'd really be overly bothered by the whole male on male thing, and really just be more amused then anything._

_It's the first chapter that doesn't have any sex in it! Ugh, plot. Sex is way better. Lol. But, I suppose both are necessary. More sex in the future (really, I promise!)! They just have to get through a little bit of a storm first to get to the rainbow. ^_^_

_Thank you everyone for your reviews and support, and I hope you'll continue reading until the end!_

_~angel-san_


	5. Making Amends

_I felt bad making them fight in the last chapter, but what's romance without drama? Next chapter will be the last *sad*, but I'm hoping to write a sequel some point in the future after I've finished everything else I'm working on (which I have been neglecting a bit), so it's not really the end. As the finale, though, I'm going to try to make the next chapter extra long so it might take me a while, but I hope it will be worth the wait!_

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><p>If Horace thought Will had been giving him the cold shoulder before, then he had outright forgotten of the warrior's very <em>existence <em>now.

Horace had been trying ever since Will had stormed off the day before to talk to the ranger, but he always seemed to find some way to blow him off. In fact, sometimes he would even go so far as to pretend he hadn't heard him speak.

Which of course made the fact that they were now stuck together in a rather small enclosed space where they would have to wait for the better part of a day all the more awkward.

It had been nearly an hour since they had rolled the cart that was supposed to appear as a diversion to the castle walls and staged its fake malfunction. Nearly an hour of waiting in uncomfortable silence which had overtaken them ever since Horace had first tried to speak and had been immediately shushed by his companion. Supposedly so they would not be heard by the patrolling guards, though the warrior doubted the whisper he had tried to use could really be heard from the castle walls twenty meters away.

Will for his part, had wanted to abandon the plan after what had happened. Well… what he had said… But it hardly seemed prudent to abandon one of their only attack strategies, and quite possibly ruin their chances of victory simply because the two of them were having a fight. Or more accurately because Will was rather unfairly mad at Horace.

The ranger glanced guiltily at his friend. The warrior really hadn't done anything wrong, and he definitely had not deserved to be yelled at and then ignored like this.

It was just that… it was so hard to resist him. He realized now that he was undeniably attracted to everything about the warrior. His looks, his voice, his personality, everything. And simply not seeing or speaking to him seemed to be the only way for Will to manage his feelings.

Feelings that he was now starting -insanely enough- to doubt even _needed _to bemanaged. He realized with equal amounts of excitement and fear that he had never felt this strongly for another person before. Not even Alyss. The fact that he was a man… That was what made it different, a new unknown. That was where the fear came from.

Picking Alyss instead had seemed to be the easier option. And he wasn't saying he didn't love her too, but it just wasn't the same. Horace was just special for some reason, and seemed to override every other love he felt. Will was beginning to realize the error in his choice to be with Alyss. It would be like just settling. And that wouldn't be fair to either of them. No one wanted to be the second choice or the consolation prize, the one you were with always wanting another they could never have. And he still loved her enough to want her to be happy even if it had to be with someone else.

With those thoughts in mind, the young ranger cleared his throat nervously, and remembering his own lecture on being quiet started to whisper, "Horace, I'm sor-"

He was cut off with a shushing noise from his companion.

He had deserved that, but still… Will glared, and the warrior shrugged smirking slightly.

"You started it", Horace whispered back, smirk widening and the ranger cringed a little at the phrase which was quickly becoming far too familiar.

"Sorry", Will replied, smiling at the warrior for what he realized was the first time in days.

And somehow with just that brief exchange, it seemed that all was forgiven. There was no need for long apologies and detailed explanations of all the feelings and realizations he had come to. It was all understood. Everything that had felt so off between them for the past couple days was finally back to normal. And for once it felt as though maybe whatever it was they had newly discovered they had together really could work.

"You'd better be", Horace smiled back at him, and careful as to not bump his head against the low roof of the cart leaned forward, planting a kiss on the ranger's lips.

The kiss started out as just a soft touch, but both of them seemed to get carried away in the moment, and within seconds it turned into a messy, open-mouthed affair in which both of their tongues battled for dominance.

"Mmm… Horace, stop…" Will panted, just barely managing to push his friend away enough to get his mouth free for a moment, a glistening string of saliva trailing from their mouths as they separated.

The warrior didn't listen however, pushing back to once again assault the young ranger's mouth, and Will let out a little muffled noise of surprise as he felt his companion's hand on his crotch.

"N-no, really…! We can't do this here…!" Will tried once again to shove Horace away, but his friend was persistent, and the ranger started to panic a little at his sudden loss of control.

Without really remembering at what point he had gotten there, Will was now laying on his back on the snowy ground half propped up on his elbows and Horace above him pinning him, his head slightly brushing the top of the cart and seeming dangerously close to knocking into it. Will panted and gasped for air as Horace grinded his hips into his, and heard his friend let out a little noise as well.

"You're going to tip the damn cart over…!" Will's admonishment came out as little more then a breathless whimper as Horace's hand began to rub him oh so perfectly.

"I'm being careful. Let me worry about that, you just relax", Horace's voice was low and soothing, and Will wanted to take his word for it, but if they weren't careful enough, if this ended up messing things up, they could very well ruin the whole siege. It wasn't worth it just so they could…

Horace smiled, leaning down to capture Will's lips once more.

"How can I relax when you're-? Ungh…" Will moaned into Horace's mouth as the warrior undid his pants enough to release his cock, now rubbing it directly, feeling so much better then through the material.

The ranger's continued moans and whimpers were muffled by the now constant contact of their lips, and he found himself swiftly being swept away by the pleasurable sensations, forgetting the risk involved.

Will was startled out of his daze however when he felt Horace's other hand reach behind him into his pants, a finger starting to press into his entrance.

"Wait, we're not going to do _that_ are we…?" the ranger suddenly breaking away from the kiss, questioned in a sharp whisper. "We shouldn't…! We…"

"Why not? We've got some time to kill. Just keep your mouth shut this time."

Will glared at his friend who dutifully ignored him, going back to ravishing his mouth as he slipped another finger into him.

Will gave up protesting, and slowly, the warrior worked the two fingers around inside his friend. A little late now, he remembered that he'd done nothing in the way of lubricating them, but thinking back he didn't think he had the first time either. It seemed like Will was putting up with it fine anyway though. Perhaps he was getting a little more accustomed to it. Either way he was still pretty damn tight, the warrior mentally acknowledged with more then a small tinge of lust, as he scissored the two fingers inside him eliciting a groan from the ranger beneath him.

Will let out a small cry as a third digit went in, though he noticed their kissing was doing a good job of stifling any sounds they made. Maybe this wouldn't be so dangerous after all. They _did_ have a lot of time on their hands. It would be past nightfall before they began the attack, and there wasn't anything they needed to be doing until then besides waiting, so…

Will shifted a little underneath his friend, trying to make the new intrusions not so uncomfortable, then barely stifled another louder cry from something other then pain this time, as the movement inadvertently caused one of them to brush by that spot. Instead, he tried to focus his energy elsewhere. Allowing himself to fall completely onto his back without his elbow's support, the ranger wrapped his arms around the warrior letting his hands fist tightly in the material of his shirt each time another wave of pain or pleasure hit him.

Will groaned and clutching his friend's shirt tighter as their groins rubbed against each other again.

If Will had not been able to tell by the close contact, he would have only needed to look down at the tell-tale tenting of Horace's pants to see that his companion was fully hard now too.

"Nn… I'm ready. Go ahead…" Will said huskily, breath puffing against his friend's lips, before Horace even had the chance to ask.

The warrior's lips quirked up in a smile, that wasn't something he needed to be told twice. He broke away momentarily from the ranger's mouth, half sitting up between his friend's legs. The confined space, and the fact that he didn't want to risk bumping the walls or roof of the cart made it a little awkward, but it still didn't take long for him to get both their pants down. Though he opted for not taking his all the way off this time, merely pulling them down enough to free his member, which stood proudly erect now that it was free from its confines.

Will felt a shudder of anticipation go through his body at the sight of it. Even his third time seeing it, the size of it still amazed him. The thought that it was soon going to be inside of him was almost too much.

This time, Horace took the time to spit on his hand, rubbing the saliva liberally on his cock to try to make it as slick as he could before he went in.

"A-ah… uhn…" Will couldn't help but groan as Horace pushed slowly into him. The ranger clenched his teeth, shutting his eyes tightly against the initial pain that still accompanied the intrusion even after all the stretching.

"Are you okay?" Horace whispered, running a hand through his friend's disheveled hair in an attempt to sooth him.

"Nn… F-fine…" Will managed to choke out, and then as if to prove so, arched his hips a little encouraging the warrior to keep going.

Horace, taking his word for it pushed in farther, finding it hard to keep himself from making too much noise even after he had admonished Will for that very thing, was unable to stifle the low moan that escaped him as he finally pushed in all the way and felt Will clutch tightly around him.

The warrior looked down at his friend's face. It didn't look like he was feeling too much pain anymore which was good, and prompted the warrior to slowly start moving.

It suddenly struck Horace that the ranger looked so cute right then, with his face flushed, eyebrows knitted together, eyes half-lidded, and mouth slightly open to accommodate his heavy breathing.

The warrior was breathing hard himself now as he pulled out, and thrust back in, making Will's body buck underneath him, quietly moaning the warrior's name in a breathy whisper.

Thinking back on it later, it was an absolute miracle neither of them made any noise loud enough to be overheard from the castle walls, and the whole thing had probably been a bad idea from the start. Not that Horace would ever admit that to Will. And unbeknownst to either of them, one of the guards had reported what he thought to be an animal crying in pain some time during their tryst.

In the end, they were both left breathless and quivering, clinging tightly to each other infinitely glad to be together again even after such a short fight. That feeling of joy was enough to assure the two of them, that more then anything else, they never wanted to be apart again.

"Horace, I love you", Will whispered, breath puffing hot against the warrior's ear.

Horace smiled, wrapping his arms tighter around his friend's small frame, "I love you too, Will."

They stayed silently holding each other, content just to feel each other's warmth until nightfall finally came. Both felt oddly saddened as it came time to make preparations for the upcoming battle.

As Will checked his weapons, he found himself briefly wondering whether they would both make it out of this okay, then paused, surprised by his own thoughts. He shouldn't be worrying like this. Going into a fight, one should be confident and collected, and he usually managed that. He didn't know where this newfound fear came from, but he quickly pushed it back down, shaking his head a little as he mentally chided himself.

Though he said nothing of it either, Horace was thinking along the same lines. The words they had both said stuck with him. It felt odd to love someone. Not to say he had never cared for anyone before, but it was more then just that.

Knowing that person was soon to be in danger made his gut clench almost painfully, even if that person had already been in danger countless times in their lives, and no doubt would continue to be until he became too old to be of any use fighting. He knew that, but still…

"I guess this is it", Will said upon hearing the signal, the drawn-out moan of a ram's horn from the other side of the castle.

Horace nodded, and they both crouched tensely as they waited the arranged twenty seconds before coming out.

'This is it' the warrior thought, before they both crawled from under the cart.

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><p><em>This was actually from my original idea for the first chapter (well back when it was going to be a oneshot), but I threw it out since I thought it would be too dangerous for them to be bumping around that much (would hate to ruin your whole siege just because you were horny). Buuut, since I still just couldn't resist the idea (just the two of them in a confined space, waiting for hours with nothing else to do, come on!), I still went with it.<em>_ Still a bit irresponsible, I know, but as is young love. Ha ha._

_Congratulations, Will Treaty for guessing it! I actually read your review right before I posted this lol._

_As always, thank you everyone who read and reviewed! You guys make me so happy! I love you all so very much!_


	6. It Might Not Even Matter

_Okay, I'm sorry, I lied. This is not the final chapter, it's the second to last (probably). Once I finally worked out exactly where I was going with it, it just seemed like it would work better as two chapters, so… Yeah. Second to last. Next one will definitely, probably be the end._

**Disclaimer: I am John Flanagan, and this is what I originally intended for Ranger's Apprentice to be, but my homophobic editors wouldn't let me… That was a lie. I in no way own Ranger's Apprentice, and I'm sure however accepting or un-accepting of lifestyles editors may be, putting graphic sex in a young adult book is a general no no.**

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><p>This was crazy.<p>

It was wrong, so very wrong that after all that had happened in the last few days, and just having finally made his choice and confessed his feelings, that Will was going to die like this.

It was a bit funny actually, if you happened to have a rather cruel sense of humor. Though that side of it was lost on the ranger who was currently looking up at the gleaming blade of a sword held by the very woman he had rejected, and on Keren's command, was very quickly about to end his young life.

Of course, her actions were not based on jealousy, anger, or an feelings of rejection (especially given that as of yet she had no knowledge of the two men's relationship). As her vacant eyes showed, she was completely under the hypnotic control of the blue gem on the pommel of the sword she held, and was merely acting on Keren's orders.

That being said, moments before the traitor Keren had told her to kill him, she had been starting to show signs of regaining herself, had seemed hesitant and unsure, and Will clung to the small hope that maybe, just maybe he could snap her out of it.

"Alyss, please don't do this", Will spouted his last ditch effort quickly, knowing there was no time. "You know me! We're friends! We grew up together!"

It wasn't much, but the slightest bit of indecision seemed to show in her eyes, and she paused, not bringing the sword down just yet.

"What are you doing? I told you to kill him!" Keren shouted, and she turned to look at him, lowering the sword as she did so.

Then Alyss turned back to Will, seeming to be analyzing the ranger.

"You said we know each other…?" She asked distantly, and the tiniest spark of elation went through the ranger's small body.

But that spark was put out when Keren shouted his command again, and that tiny bit of indecision seemed to vanish from the blonde courier's eyes, as she once again raised the sword, past friendships forgotten in the warm all consuming blue that enveloped her mind.

Though it seemed a bit cliché, in those few seconds, it was as though time had slowed down. And in those seconds Will knew, and accepted for certain that he was going to die. What seemed like thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind at that moment. The one of the stronger of which being the unfairness of it all. He had just managed to sort through his relationship with his best friend, and had barely even had the chance to enjoy it. He had likely no more then an hour or two ago confessed his feelings to the one he loved most, and now would never be able to see him again.

Those more selfish feelings aside, he didn't want to leave Horace alone either. He was sure the warrior would have no trouble finding someone else (most likely Evanly- Cassandra), but all the same…

And Alyss. That thought troubled him most of all. She would be the one to have killed him. What would that do to her?

He may have realized that she was not _the_ one for him, but that didn't mean he didn't still care about her. And if fate had not lead him and Horace to suddenly discover this thing they had together, he had little doubt he would have wanted her as his own. He still loved her, even if just as a friend.

And in that last impossibly long second before the sword made its way down, Will knew that if nothing else, he at least had to try to get that across to her.

"Alyss, I'm sorry", he started hurriedly, and he was certain he saw just the briefest flash of hesitation spark back into her eyes. "Alyss, I lo-" He suddenly faltered.

What? Why couldn't he say it? He had surprised even himself with his inability to finish his sentence. Perhaps it was because, though he meant it platonically, it still somehow seemed as though saying those words would be a betrayal of the other he had so recently said them to. Or perhaps he worried that they would be misinterpreted if Alyss had in fact had any reciprocating feelings for him, and that he would be cruelly leading the girl on.

It seemed that Will would never get to know why. Because the moment the young ranger had faltered, the blonde's hesitation had vanished, and the sword came sweeping down.

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><p><em>Extremely short, I know, but I wanted to end it on a cliffhanger (sadistic bitch, aren't I?). But the next chapter *should* be the last. I must admit, I'll be a bit sad for it to end. Though I hope to someday write a sequel in which everyone gets to find out and there are many many more sex scenes.<em>

_I wrote this really late at night (or very early in the morning, whichever way you wish to look at it) and all in one go, quality may not be guaranteed, but I really wanted to hurry up and post it._

_Thank you for reading and please review!_

_~angel-san_


	7. Near Death Experiences

**Disclaimer: I did not write Ranger's Apprentice. I never write anything with any kind of hetero romance.**

_And at last, the most definitely final chapter! I'd just like to say, that I didn't kill any cute little rangers… I _may_ have damaged one a bit though… so… sorry?_

Far bellow the tower, things were considerably less chaotic. The battle was as good as over with only a small cowering group of enemy soldiers remaining alive who had not managed to flee or hide. Horace had given them a chance to surrender, but frightened as they were of the attackers and their "dark sorcery", it was a lost cause. It was a shame, and it left a bad taste in the young warrior's mouth killing these people with the odds so grossly stacked against them, but it was what had to be done. He _had _given them a chance after all which was really all he could do. It wasn't as though they were completely innocent citizens anyway.

In the end, he wound up leaving the task to Gundar and the rest of the Skandians, as he went off to provide any possible needed aid to his "cute little boyfriend" (not his words) Will.

Will had gone off to the tower Alyss was being held in, after they had seen Keren heading for it, and that was where Horace now set his sites.

Though the warrior was still on alert just in case, he did not expect to be faced with much resistance on his way up the tower stairs, seeing as the ranger would have no doubt already cleared the way for him. A soldier's body with an arrow protruding from it sprawled across two of the steps proved that theory. The lack of danger the warrior met could not however dispel his growing sense of dread as he ascended the tower steps.

He had long ago learned on the battlefield that intuition was a powerful thing, and not something to be ignored. Right now his intuition was telling him something terrible had or was about to happen, and he quickened his pace, though he kept a ready hand on the hilt of his sword on the off chance Will had left one of the guards alive.

And then Horace heard the scream. It was an agonizing drawn out cry that made the warrior's stomach seem to tie itself into knots. Even at his young age, death was nothing new to the warrior. He had seen it claim its victims before, even been on the dealing end of it, and had heard similar, even arguably worse noises. What made this time different, was that this time it was Will's voice.

Throwing caution aside, Horace bolted up the remaining steps, nearly tripping and falling in his hurry, though he hardly slowed down to right himself.

He heard another scream on the way up, and tried to push himself to go even faster.

If there had been any straggler for some reason left behind in the guard, they would have no doubt been able to easily run their sword through the warrior in his reckless rushed state, but that matter did not come up.

Instead, Horace made it safely up the stairs in time that would have most likely been a record if anyone had been keeping track, but still seemed to take far too long. Though the sight that met him within the open doorway of the room Alyss had been imprisoned in stopped the warrior cold.

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><p>All Will's mind knew was pain. He could neither see nor hear, though he was dimly aware of a scream being ripped from his throat, and of falling to his knees on the hard floor.<p>

The sword had gone through his shoulder, near his neck. The blade had been brought down with such force that it had not only torn through clothing, skin, and muscle on its way through, but fractured the bone beneath as well. The blade still in him was rested so deeply that both edges were concealed within his torn flesh.

He vaguely realized that he had dropped his bow, and it was lying uselessly along with the unfired arrow on the floor next to him. In fact, though his shoulder still radiated agonizing jolts of pain, his accompanying arm was completely numb. Not that it would have mattered as there was no way he could fight now anyway, and surely in no time at all fear at the possibility of being crippled would not matter either.

"He's not dead yet. Finish him." Keren said coldly from the other side of the room.

Alyss glanced at him before looking back at the figure kneeling in front of her, his eyes wide with pain and shock, his blood steadily dripping onto the floor. She frowned. She didn't like this image. She didn't like it at all. And she couldn't help but again have the slight twinge of a feeling that she knew this boy. She… cared about him…

"You must obey me, Alyss. I _told_ you to finish him."

That was true wasn't it? She must obey him. The blue told her to… A faint voice in her head pleaded for her not to do it, but she reached anyway, gripping the hilt of the sword that held the beautiful blue once again in her hands, she pulled hard trying to yank it out.

Will's eyes widened further, a chocked sound escaping him as the sword was pulled slightly free.

She tried again, and this time Will screamed though the blade wedged in deep as it was hardly budged.

"I can't get it out", she said simply, turning back to Keren as if awaiting new orders.

There was a slight growl of frustration from the man, as he stepped forward, drawing his own sword.

"Fine, I'll do it myself!" The knight roughly shoved Alyss aside, but before he could make any move to finish the job, another blade was swung at him.

Keren barely had time to parry the blow from Horace's sword, immediately stepping back to avoid another sweep of the blade.

As the two men fought, Alyss's gaze fell back to the young man she had tried to kill. He really did look familiar, and hadn't he said they knew each other…? His blood was beginning to form a puddle on the floor. He was breathing harshly and shaking, and his eyes were now only half open. He looked as though he was about to pass out.

Her eyes went back to the blue gem, and she smiled at its beauty. But her smile soon turned to a frown. The puddle of blood came back to her mind. The red… it was somehow encroaching on the blue.

Blood… Injury. She had caused that injury to… what was his name again…?

The blue told her that his name wasn't important. That he was no one. But it was so quiet now, muffled by the seeping red.

She looked back at him, and glazed brown eyes met hers.

"A…lyss…?"

Her eyes suddenly widened, and she gasped, taking a staggering step back before falling to her knees. The warm comforting blue was gone just like that, allowing the world to come back into horrific focus.

No… no… this couldn't be…! Had she… Had she done this to Will…?

It was too much to take, and whimpering, she curled in on herself, hiding her face in her hands, just as Will finally lost consciousness and fell with a thud to the floor.

To either of the two, it could have been seconds or hours before Horace had finally won his fight- a clean kill, a stab straight through the heart.

The warrior rushed over to them, immediately falling to his knees beside Will. He spared a quick glance to where Alyss was now huddled in the corner sobbing, but hastily decided the ranger was more important right now, having to assure himself that it was not merely his own bias, but truly the more urgently in need of help of the two.

Luckily (if you could call anything about this situation "lucky"), when he had fallen, it had been on his other side, and had not caused the sword still stuck deep in his shoulder to collide with the floor, and likely causing even more damage. It was still pretty bad though. The front of his shirt was soaked in blood, with a steadily growing puddle of it underneath him.

"Will!" Horace called his name, but managed to refrain from shaking him for the sake of not inflicting any more pain on his injured friend (/lover).

With shaking hands, the warrior quickly checked for pulse and breathing, and was relieved to find they were both there. But they wouldn't be for long if he continued to bleed like this. He'd need to put pressure on it to staunch the flow, but before that… his eyes fell on the sword still sticking out of his torn flesh.

If he removed the sword it would open the wound further, causing him to bleed more rapidly, but it was already bleeding pretty bad, and with it still in, there was nothing he could do to help him. Also, it would make carrying him harder, and he needed to get him out of here, and hopefully get help. Hopefully, since the battle was now over, the healer Malcolm had come to help with the injured.

He briefly thought of trying to send Alyss for help, but… whatever had happened to her, she didn't look like she was in a state to be of any help at the moment.

The warrior gathered that she must have been under hypnosis from the blue gem when she had attacked Will. He wasn't sure what had snapped her out of it, but it apparently hadn't been easy on her. His attention was too caught up on the love of his life who was now in danger of slipping away to focus much attention on her though.

He turned back to Will, making his decision. He would have to pull it out. Even if it was dangerous, even if it hurt him, it was the best chance he had right now.

"Will", he said in case his friend still held onto any form of consciousness, "I'm sorry. This is going to hurt, but I have to do it. Please just try to be strong and hold on okay?"

He received a couple pained whimpers in response, and the warrior could only hope that his words had somehow gotten through to him. He took a deep breath to calm himself, before gripping the hilt of the sword.

"I'm sorry, Will." Horace repeated before swiftly yanking the sword out, creating a sickening noise as the blade was ripped out of flesh and bone, mixed with a strangled cry from the young ranger.

* * *

><p>In the end, Will had survived, but only barely, and though Malcolm had treated him as best he could, the young ranger was still in pretty bad shape. The bleeding had been stopped thankfully before he had bled out, but he was still extremely weak and was just starting to get over the fever he had developed not long after his injury.<p>

Not to mention, what the healer had said about his arm…

Will hadn't been awake much at all for the past few days, but Horace didn't think he would have told him just yet anyway. He didn't think his friend needed any extra stress while he was still fighting to recover. Also, even though, upon hearing the news, he had asked to be the one to eventually break it to him, the warrior didn't quite know how he should tell him. How did you tell someone who's livelihood depended on their physical capabilities that they had likely lost the use of one of their limbs?

Will hadn't been awake for them to see for sure, but Malcolm had said that the damage to the muscles and nerves had been so extensive that even without checking, there was next to no chance the ranger would have retained much of any movement in his right arm. There was no way to repair the damage either. Will would be permanently crippled. Best case scenario, with time and heavy amounts of effort and physical rehabilitation he would be able to get back some very basic movement. "Basic" was to in other words say he would never fire an arrow again.

Horace knew that news would kill him. Even if he was glad that his friend was alive, he wasn't sure if the one in question would see it the same way.

Being a ranger was everything to Will. And now…

Will gave a pained moan, shifting restlessly in his sleep, and snapping Horace out of his thoughts, and the warrior was surprised to see the ranger's eyes slowly open.

"Will?" Horace asked hesitantly. The few times he had been awake previously, he had been delirious with fever and hadn't even seemed to know who or where he was.

"Ung… Horace…?" Half lidded brown eyes turned to look at the warrior, and Horace let out a sigh of relief. It seemed he had finally regained some lucidity, if he was at least recognizing people now.

"How do you feel?" Horace asked, scooting his chair closer to his friend's bed.

"Great…" Even in his groggy and pained state, Will still managed to put a heavy dose of sarcasm into his reply.

"Well, Malcolm's been giving you some concoction he made that's supposed to help with the pain, but he said it wouldn't be able to completely suppress it."

Will nodded silently. He was still in quite a bit of pain, but he supposed if what the warrior said was true, it could be a lot worse.

His eyes grew serious suddenly, firmly meeting his the warrior's eyes in a way that said he would take no time with lies or sugar-coating. "How bad is it?"

Horace's gaze flickered down, unable to keep eye contact, the action filling Will with dread, as his friend shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Will, you should be happy to be alive… You lost so much blood that…-" Horace tried to stall. He still didn't think it was the time to be telling him this, but Will, determined to hear the truth, persisted.

"How bad?" The ranger repeated, gaze unwavering even with the fear now coursing through him. Almost unconsciously he tried to move the fingers of his right hand, but found that he couldn't, causing the cold feeling of dread to worsen even before hearing the diagnosis.

The warrior paused for a moment, then sighed lowering his head. "It was… pretty bad. Malcolm said you… you probably won't be able to move your arm much if… if at all…" Horace kept his head lowered as he spoke, and his voice was quiet, dissolving to nearly a whisper by the end, but Will still heard it perfectly.

The ranger was silent, the shock rendering him speechless even if he had already started to guess it anyway. Hearing it out loud though put certainty to it. He was useless now. Crippled. What would become of him now? Surely he couldn't still be a ranger. Will felt as though a cruel hand were squeezing his heart, crushing the fragile organ until it burst.

Will quickly turned his gaze away as he felt tears start to cloud his vision. He supposed there was little point to it though, as Horace would still no doubt see them.

"Will…" Horace started, watching helplessly as tears started to stream down his friend's face.

Will sniffed, bringing his left hand up to wipe uselessly at the heavy cascade of tears. "I may as well have died", he sniffed again, his statement accented by a weak bitter laugh.

"Don't say that!" Will turned, shocked at the sudden outburst from his friend.

"Do you even know how much this upset Alyss? She's barely been able to do anything other then sleep and cry for the past few days! Just think how much worse that would have been for her if you had died! Not to mention how scared _I_ was! _I _was the one who had to pull that sword out of you! _I _was the one who had to carry you bleeding all over the place and barely clinging to life, down from the tower to get help! And _I _was the one that had to watch you battle with fever and blood loss for days praying and wondering if you'll even survive! So don't tell me, you don't even care!"

Will blinked stupidly, mouth opening and closing a couple times, but no words coming out.

Horace was left panting from the long and angry outburst. He hadn't really meant to yell at Will, especially when he was still recovering, but… it had just sort of come out. He couldn't exactly say he was sorry for saying it though. It was truly how he felt. He loved Will, and not just as a friend as they had still only recently discovered. Almost losing him had been…

"I'm… I'm sorry", Will said finally, lowering his gaze from his friend's face as he realized how inconsiderate he had been.

Horace closed his eyes for a moment. A small sad smile crossed his lips as he added quietly, "Yeah, me too."

Then, the warrior leaned forward, catching his friend's lips in a soft kiss, which Will returned gratefully.

"Whatever happens", Horace said as he pulled away from Will's lips, though remaining close, making sure he kept eye contact with him as he spoke, "I promise I will be there for you, and do whatever I can to help you. No matter what."

Will could see no hint of wavering in his friend's eyes, and he knew there would be no stopping him from keeping his word. Will sniffed a little, and Horace reached one big hand forward to gently wipe the tears from his face.

"I love you, Will", he said for the second time. Though the first now felt like very long ago.

Will couldn't help but smile, even as a few tears continued to trickle down his face.

"I love you too."

And he knew that whatever happened, even if the life he knew was fated to end, he would at least have Horace. And the warrior seemed ready to make certain that nothing would separate them.

"Now get some rest", Horace whispered, kissing him softly one last time before Will slowly closed his tired eyes in compliance.

Maybe things wouldn't be all bad after all, Will though tiredly before sleep consumed him once more, so long as they had each other…

_Thank you for reading! If you've made it this far, it would make me very happy if you would take the time to leave a review (even just a short one)._

_And as always, thank you to anyone who has already reviewed, favorited, or just read this story! I hope you found some enjoyment in it!_

_Terribly sorry for maiming and crippling poor Will. Erm, the sadistic side of me just had to do it. Please don't hurt me._

_I wanted to put a sex scene at the end, but Will just didn't seem to be in good enough condition for sexing just yet. Oh well, there's always the sequel, which I plan on writing, just maybe not soon as I've got a few other things I'm already working on right now. But there will be plenty of sexy boy sex in it, I promise! I might write a quick smutty oneshot in the meantime though, so keep your eyes peeled! ^_^ Either Horace/Will like this one, but earlier from when they were a bit younger or Halt/Will. If you want you can review with your pick._

_~angel-san_

_-End-_


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